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(No Model) A. H. BROWN. LEAK DETECTOR FUR PIPES- No. 401,409r PatentedApr. 16. 1889.

W IWI {0 ODQGQQ INVENTOR,

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

ANDREW H. BROYVN,

PATENT OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

LEAK-DiETECTOR FOR PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,409, dated April16, 1889. Application filed January 2, 1889' Serial No, 295,122. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW II. BROWN, of New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedLeak-Detector for Pipes, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved automaticdevice for detecting leaks in water-pipes in hotels and apartment andother houses and for preventing foul gases from passing from one room orapartment to another by means of the wastepipe.

The invention consists of a valve held in a closed position untilsufficient leak-water aecumulates on the valve to open the same, so thatthe valve closes an electrical circuit connected with an annunciator.

The invention also consists in certain parts and details andcombinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter, andthen pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the figures Figure 1 is a sectional sideelevation of the improvement as applied, and Fig. 2 is an enlargedsectional side elevation of the improvement.

The water-pipes A of a room, or of the several rooms of a floor, or ofone compartment are passed over a drip-pan, B, so that on any leakoccurring in any one ofthe pipes A in or near the respective room,floor, or apartment the water accumulates in the said pan. In the bottomof the latter is held a head, 0, provided with a strainer, D, on itstop, and in the pan B, so that the water dripping into the pan B passesthrough the strainer 1) into the head 0. The latter, is connected at itslower end, E, with a pipe, F, leading to a vertical pipe, G, passingthrough the several floors of the house, and into which lead similarpipes, F, from the several rooms, floors, or

apartments of the building. The lower end of the pipe G terminates,preferably, a short distance above the cellar-floor, so that theleak-water passes down the pipe G and flows into the cellar until theleak is stopped.

In the head 0 is held an apertured partition, H, which forms avalve-seat for the valve I, held on the under side of the partition H,and secured on a stem, J, passing through the strainer D, and pivot-allyconnected at its outer end to a lever, K, fulcrumed on a suitable postsecured on the strainer D. The outer end of the lever K plays in asaddle, L, and is provided with an insulated contactpoint, N, adapted tobe thrown in contact with the lower end of a set-screw, O, screwing inthe top of the saddle L. The insulated point N and the screw 0 areconnected by the wires P and P, respectively, with an annunciator, Q, ofany approved construction and preferably located in the cellar or in theoffice of the janitor of the building.

The operation is as follows: Then a pipe, A,'in one of the rooms, theapartment, or floor leaks, then the water drips into the pan B, fromwhich it flows through the strainer D and into the waste-water head Q.As soon as sufficient water has accumulated in the head 0 on top of thevalve I, the latter opens by overbalancing the free end of the lever K,and the latter consequently swings upward at its free end, whereby theinsulated contact-point N is thrown in contact with the screw 0, and anelectric circuit is established by the wires P and P with theannunciator Q. The alarm given by the annunciator attracts the attentionof the janitor or other person in charge of the building, and at thesame time indicates in which room, apartment, or floor the leak hasoccured, so that preparations can be made immediately to stop the leakin the respective compartment.

It is understood that the free end of the lever K can be weighted to anyextent, so as to hold the valve I on its seat H until a considerablequantity of water has accumulated in the head C above the partition H.It will further be seen that the valve I is always held on its seat lluntil a leak occurs, and consequently foul gases in the pipe G areprevented from passing into any room, floor, or apartment by the pipe Fand the head 0.

As the water flows into the cellar through the pipe G, the janitor orother attendant of the building is obliged to have the leak repaired assoon as possible,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A leak-detector for pipes, comprising a head into which passes theleak-water, a valve held in the said head and opened by the accumulatedleak-water, and an annunciator connected with the said valve andactuated when the latter opens, substantially as shown and described.

2. A leak-detector for pipes, comprising a drip-pan over which pass thevarious pipes, a head held in the said drip-pan and connected with apipe, a valve held closed in the said head until a suflicient amount ofwater accumulates in the said head, and a lever supporting the saidvalve and'weighted to hold it on its seat in the head, a contactpointheld on the said lever, a screw held above the said contact-point, andan annunciator connected with the said contact-point and the said screwto establish an electric current when the said valve is opened,substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a drip-pan, a head held in the said drip-pan,and a waste-pipe connected with the said head, of a valve held on itsseat in the said head, a lever pivotally connected with the said valveand weighted to hold the valve closed, a saddle in which the free end ofthe said lever plays, ascrew screwing in the said saddle, wires leadingfrom the said screw in the said lever, and an annunciator connected withthe said wires and act-uated when the said valve opens and throws thefree end of the said lever in contact with the said screw to establishan electric current, substantially as shown and described.

ANDREW H. BROWN.

